North Korea - Last days

Here is, finally, the final installment of my North Korean trip.

We visited a museum!
A museum on war crimes committed by the US and others during the Korean War...
Fun.

While I have no doubt many atrocities happened, some of this stuff was over-the-top.
Dropping grenades in th air vents of bunkers to pull the people inside... Its dirty, but that's why war sucks, and something tells me that were the positions reversed, they might have done the same.

However, the eviscerating of a pregnant woman, "just because", or forcing a whole village to drink gasoline then pour it on the survivors and burn them seems rather implausible, if only because of the unnecessarily roundabout way of going about killing people in cruel and unusual ways, but also because of the purported wasting of precious resources (fuel) that far into enemy territory.

That being said, many of the less extravagant atrocities seem plausible,and even the more far-fetched ones are probably rooted in factual events, but the depictions too often take on a patriotic-martyr-like twist or are just too incongruous to be able to be taken seriously as-is. Added to this are the painted renderings of some of the stories, replete with sadistic american soldiers torturing poor Korean women.

By killing them in various ways by tying them to running bulls via hooks in their breats, or by driging tails through their heads.

After the tour of museum proper, with explanations given by a very "passionate" museum tour guide (I guess she is "paid" for being, or at least sounding,  fanatical), we went to offer flowers to a mass grave, and sign a guestbook.

Whether or not we believe that some stories were embellished or not, there is no denying atrocities were committed during wartime, but the most depressing fact to me was that atrocities like those described are done by people who have lost part of their humanity because of hate...And the whole museum show is tailored to shock and incite North Koreans to hate at the evil invaders, basically reinforcing the cycle of hate and abuse.

They make a big case of some of the war leaders like Harisson, whose hate of communists led him to order killings bordering on genocide, and vilify him, inciting feelings of fear and ate all the time conveniently forgetting that hate and fear is what made him that way. Its like the museum,s goal is to take Harisson's example as a reason to create more monsters like Harisson.

Can't really write that in the guestbook though, so I had to be a bit more creative.

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After all that we headed to a nice little countryside cabin/hotel that had its very own hot springs!

..I love hot springs!
While i was not expecting the kind of gargantuan jimjilbang that i experiences in Seoul (like 5 floors of spa goodness!) or of the charm of Japanese onsen (rotenburo in winter > all), I was still slightly unfazed by the small tub in the bathroom that we could fill with hot spring water from 8 to 10pm.

It was still real spring water, and, to be fair, probably one of the only places in North Korea with hot springs, electricity and food, all in one place.
I think I soaked for the better part of 2 hours.

The rooms were comfortable, and in cottage-style fashion (every cottage having 4 rooms). The forest around there was pretty and I wish I had had more time to walk about it.
There was also a concession stand near the cafeteria and I bought a bunch of belgian/german chocolate, very cheap and brand name!

Chocolate and hot springs in North Korea... Its easy to forget about all the people starving or in work camps...

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After the nice Nampo hotel, we went to visit a "farm".
It was like this model farm proposed by Kim Il Sung.
Well.. It was in this nice little house, with perfect furniture, and and perfect kitchen set.
The grandmother was at home with her grandson, the parents probably outside, working "the fields".
It was kind of surreal, since we didn't see any fields around the house...
But it was a very nice house.
I asked the kid to pose with Spike, and there was a misunderstanding and he thought I was giving Spike to him... Luckily I am good with kids and managed to bewilder him, get Spike back, and have him wave happily bye-bye to Spike as we were leaving.
Like a boss.

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Afterwards, we went to visit a water bottling factory.

At this point, I was starting to wonder if we had run out of fun and educational sites to visit...
I mean, a water bottling factory, we have those back home, right?

The factory was clean and used some Italy-imported bottling machines.
We even got to see the spring and were explained how the water was gathered and carbonized.
It shows that, when political approval and support is forthcoming, industry can "thrive".

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Well, just as I thought the interesting part of the trip was over.. We headed to Kumsusan Memorial Palace of the Sun, the most sacred place in all North Korea, where the bodies of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung are displayed and preserved.

This is one of the most difficult places to visit (excluding the work camps, anything army-related, most of the countryside and basically anywhere in North Korea not meant for foreigners to see).

No photos were allowed inside.

After a thorough check, we were allowed in the building, through a very long  conveyor belt/escalator ride with pictures depicting the two leaders' lives and accomplishments. Once inside the building, we were treated to a series of rooms where we could see all the medals and prized won or offered to the Great Leaders in their lifetime.

The architecture of place was also breathtaking. Huge marble columns and floors, and gold crystal chandeliers. The kind of extravagance you see in the Louvres.

The center of the show is, of course, the preserved bodies of the two leaders in their glass boxes, under constant guard. We had to come in in groups of five, bow one three times, from different sides, then move to the next room and repeat the process. This is where North Koreans would supposedly cry and wail, but the group before us was rather tame.

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That day, we went to.. An Italian restaurant.
Apparently one of the higher-up friend of the Kims, after a successful career as diplomat, decided to start an Italian restaurant back home.

We actually met with a pair of Egyptians who were working on an IT project in north Korea. one of them was even browsing Facebook from his iPad. I guess working for the government has its perks.

The food was really good, too!

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The next even was the Grand People's Study House, the Pyongyang public library.
Again, as with the Palace, a huge building, with an amazing marble entrance and grandiose rooms.
When the Kims order something done, they order it in Style!

There are public rooms for free-viewing books, reading rooms, media rooms, music rooms, etc.
The place was reasonably crowded, but seeing as we had to wait 40 minutes outside the doors before they let us in, I suspect they had to turn on many of the computers and find people to man the seats of the library in order for it to be "presentable" before they let us in.

They had a nifty computer search engine, and many foreign books.
I could not find 1984 though.

On the top floor is a gift shop, where one can find nice picture books and a slew of Kim-derived products, like "Anecdotes from the live of Kim Jong Il" and "The Kim Il Sung Saga in 12 tomes".
The anecdotes were surprisingly similar to stuff you find in every other religion; stories about him helping his fellow man in strange, yet deep ways, or semi-supernatural stuff happening around him in his life signaling someone as being more than simply human, etc...

The view form the roof was also quite good.

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The last part of the activity for me was the school visit.
I was really looking forward to being able to visit a school and see students, and all that jazz, but ended being disappointed.

Just before we arrived, they hid all the students, so we got to see a couple of empty classes and science labs.

We were then ushered into the school theater where a score of kids did a concert for us, with instruments and dancing and whatnot.

Needless to say they had obviously been trained hard for this show and had given it countless times. The girls had these heavily painted faces frozen in a picture of joy that was slightly disturbing in their uniformity. When they sung, their posture were all identical, down to the knee-bending movement in tune to the music.

At the very end, they invited everyone in and made a dancing circle and seemed almost natural, but something was still off...

At the very end, when everyone was posing for photos,on a whim and in a last desperate attempt to elicit some kind of spontaneous response, I tried throwing Spike to them, to maybe see surprise, curiosity; something...
But spike was thrown, and they just kept smiling for the cameras and ignored him.

Needless to say this was not what I had in mind when I was told "school visit".
Seeing a score of highly trained kids put up a show, does not a school make.
This is my purely Western-centric view, of course.

After the school visit I started feeling unwell, and bailed out for the rest of the day.
At first i thought it might be the letdown I felt from the school trip bumming me out, but it turns out I had a fever and by the time we made it to the hotel i was genuinely feeling queasy.

Since everyone needs tour guides, a pair of ladies were called in to watch over me, as I rested in my hotel room. they were very thorough, calling me every 30 minutes to see if I was still OK.
Needless to say, i couldn't get much sleep.

At least I had brought some anti-fever medicine from home, so i took them.

By the time the group came back for dinner, I was feeling a bit better and grabbed a bite with them.

The next morning, we packed our bags, and left for China by train.
This time, the locomotive didn't catch on fire.

As we were crossing the bridge into China, I couldn't help myself from being ironic, and thought out-loud "Ah, back to a free and democratic country: China".

Well, free and democratic compared to North Korea, anyways.

Next up: My days in China

おまけ: North Korean Traffic Ladies!

The trip continues...!

Still many photos to sort, so little time to sort them.
Also, sorting pictures is boring, especially when you have 15 parallel albums you need to cut down to size and need to double-and-triple check to be sure you have as little redundant photos as possible..

Anyhoo, we visited a fruit farm (where I got some plum liqueur) then headed to Kaesong, to see the DMZ and Panjumon hall (where the armistice was signed (The benificient Kim il-Sung decided to take pity on the South Koreans and spare them annihilation for the time being)). We also went to a restaurant, and lodged at the Kaesong Folk Hotel.

The restaurant was OK (pretty lavish, being in north Korea, but then the regime has its price to uphold in front of strangers). The *taste* was OK, but the food they served, in the traditionnal fashion, with the dozens of little bowls, was pretty interesting.

Spike liked it.

The DMZ was a lot less touristy than South Korea. The trip was mostly somber, and we were told not to smile, but there still was a nice little gift shop with North Korea's famous ginseng! I got some ginseng tea and dried roots (for my Chinese friend, back in Montreal who used to tout me their virtues).
One of the guards got real friendly with me and the other Canadian guy and started to as us a lot of questions. We answered as truthfully as being politically correct allowed us to be, and it was quite interesting.
It turns out that soldier always tries to find out the Americans in a group and ask them questions. Personal Interest? Taking the pulse on what the climate is on the other side of the pond as a soldier? Who knows.

We also visited a fruit farm, and the experience was different than what I was expecting. Every explanation started with "The Great Leader"
...Told us; Taught us; Showed us; Invented; Created; Decided...
In the middle of the guided tour guides' speech, I started wondering how much of it was for appearances, and a necessity to live in their world, and how much of it they actually believed.
The lady seemed to believe in it hard enough. Then again it's her job.

Nice clean store. i really wonder how many visitors they have a year?
Then again ideas like profit, market and business are alien here, in this government sponsored farm.

Next came Kaesong city and the Folk Hotel.
The city was nice, and had this 'new city build over/alongside the old one" that Quebec city has. At least, the places we visited, that is. people were going about their daily lives at a time where western news were going on about "mounting tensions" and the North Korea border being closed..

The Folk Hotel itself was very nice, build in traditionnal fashion, and incorporating parts of a building supposedly dating back to the Joseon dynasty!

We also got lucky and had the chance to visit (another) Big Statue!

Spike! Dont imitate that man!
You'll end up.. The very rich leader of a small country. The top, as it is, of your own nation, richer and more powerful than anyone else...
Hmm... Let me think about this for a bit...

All in all that was a nice day.
I really liked the Kaesong Folk Hotel and its more subtle, passive, propaganda (Hey, our culture is 5000 years old!).
Compared to the constant barrage of monuments and zealous tour-guides, it was a welcome respire.
The shower only had cold water, and only for one hour in the mnorning.

North Korea Day 2 - Part 2

Sorry for the long delay between posts.
Sorting through what is not 3000+ photos from 6 different sources (so many, many duplicates that I need to choose from) is tedious, so I keep postponing.

On the second half of the first day, we went and visited the Arch of Triumph,

the Pyongyang metro,

 and Moran Hill.

(That last one is one of my favorites, as it shows Kim Il Sung giving a speech advocating the right of free speech and the independence of Korea)

The Arch of Triumph was pretty grandiose in and by itself, in fact, it is slightly large than the one in Paris. Unfortunately, the difference (60mx50m compared to 50mx45m) is mitigated by the fact that you can not go on top, and that it is not surrounded by the breathtaking view of the place Charles deGaulle and traffic circle.

It was interesting for me, as I had been to Paris only 3 years earlier and had visited the Arche de Triomphe de l'Étoile there. Also interesting is the need North Korea felt to try and emulate and surpass the West/Allies, as displayed by the Arch.

We then took a walk around the surrounding area, passing near Kim il Sung stadium, the Pyongyang cinema, and finished by going up the hill itself, which was a nice little park. Despite the growing tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world... People were going about their daily lives as normal, children laughing while on their way back from school, etc. In this context the mounting tensions appeared forced. The terms "Pyongyang wants..." and "North Korea decides to..." are everywhere in the media, and its easy to forget that this is not a democracy (though many North Koreans purportedly believe otherwise) and that normal people therefore have no say in what is being decided. on top of that, most of them do not even know what is happening in other regions of North Korea, let alone the world, their only source of information being government-sanctioned news and broadcasts.

People seemed relaxed around Moran Hill, and some old ladies even bantered with some of the younger German guys.

Afterwards we were to go to the DMZ (This time, the North Korean side), The Fruit Farm(tm) and Kaesong Hotel.

North Korea Day 2 - Part 1

After resting up in our hotel, and going around inside it and eating breakfast, we hopped on the bus and headed to Kim il Sun's Old House (Manyongdae Native House).

This is the house in which supposedly, Kim Il Sung was born. Whether this is the real house, a replica, or if it was moved, is unclear. The lady guide attached to the house was quite passionnate as she expounded the details of how the Great Leader had been born into a poor but patriotic family, his brother died fighting against the Japanese invasion, and he supposedly left home at a young age to participate in the anti-japanese movement.

The story spun by the tour guide attached to the house was a bit over-the-top, depicting poot, but perfectly patriotic people and parents sacrificing their well-being in order to give their son a chance and the son vowing to purge Korea of Japanese and return to help his family. He also apparently learned to read and write at a ridiculously young age, and the house is rife with anecdotes demonstrating the wisdom and foresight of the future great Leader.

After visiting the house and hearing the talk, we headed out and walked through the beautiful park surrounding it. The trees and ponds were well-tended and it was without a doubt the most meticulously groomed park in North Korea. it is, after all, the park surrounding the house where their godlike Eternal President was born.

After the house visit, we hopped back on our tour bus and headed to the Pyongyang National Gift Museum, where gifts to the regime from North Korean nationals are displayed. The gifts are from Korean expatriates all over the world and are usually something linked to the country where they are living, but sent with a prayer for reunification. Some gifts are really preposterous, like a big tiger carved out of marble-like stone, weighting a few tons or an intricately ornate wooden vase made from tens of thousands of pieces of wood glued together. Some other gifts are an autographed basketball, tea sets, paintings, etc.

Some of the gifts came from Canada, from Korean expats or Korean communities abroad, many came from the founder of Hyundai, who is himself originally from North Korea. I saw some gifts from various ITF headmasters as well. unfortunately we were not allowed to bring our cameras inside, so no photos there :(

Korea Trip - North Korea

So we took the train to North Korea, crossing the Friendship Bridge... And stopped

...We stopped so that North Korean immigration agents could go through our stuff.
It was a bit anticlimactic, but the chief customs guy was pretty funny, he even gave a bottle of rice wine to one of the guys in the group. After about half an hour, it was done, and the train lurched to a start again.

...Then, after an hour or so, the locomotive caught on fire.

Being not allowed to leave the train, and the windows not opening more than a crack, we were unable to know what was happening when the train suddenly stopped in its tracks, in the middle of nowhere, near a small rural village without electricity.

We then noticed village people coming to and from the village under the orders of the government officials on the train, carrying buckets of water to the front of the train. I was in another train, talking to a group of Chinese laborers on their way to Pyongyand to work on a new building, and eventually understood that the locomotive had caught fire and that we would be there a while.


...And you know what? That there five hours was one of the most fulfilling of the whole trip, because we got to see a small rural North Korean village from up close, and some of the village kids even went up to the train and I got to communicate and play rock paper scissors with these kids that probably have never seen a Caucasian before...

Anyways, a few hours later, a new locomotive came in from Pyongyang, and we finally made it, five hours late.


Pyongyang itself is a lot more industrial than what we saw from the train on our way there, but most buildings are old and look.... Washed out... Then you have those huge government projects and monuments that are, let's face it, impressive, like the Ryugyong Hotel (Still being finished).

After arriving at the hotel, we had time for a shower and supper in a huge and very empty dining hall. The elevators of the hotel were pretty cool, a pair of them had half the shaft sticking out of the buinding, and you could see yourself being propelled up or down. The elevators were very efficient, only staying open for 3 seconds. I sort of liked that, as I hate having to just stand there, waiting for a door to close, but one of the girls was not quick enough to get out and got to make an extra trip up and down the elevator back to her floor :P

The next day we were going to head to Kim Il Sung's "Birthplace House", and the Museum of Gifts.

Korea Trip - Dandong

On April 5th, we took the ferry from Incheon port in South Korea, to Dandong, a city in China that borders with North Korea.

...For some reason, the ferry struck me a typically Chinese.

It was really crowded. in fact this is a picture of one of the less crowded areas.
After rubbing shoulders with a couple of hundred Chinese people, we were let on board of the ferry, into our own private room.

Well, private common room, anyways. I positioned myself nearest the door, to get some fresh air from outside, but in the end, so many Chinese were smoking on the deck with the door open, about two meters from our cabin, that i ended up closing the door.

The cafeteria was no less crowded for supper, and all in all, it was a relatively event-less trip and we arrived the next morning in Dandong.

The feeling I had in Dandong, was of a mix of Urban and countryside. On one hand you had factories and coal-processing plants near the center of the town, but on the other, you had some very tall buildings, and downtown was definitely urban. in contrast to South Korea, though, it was definitely less modern and clean. Then again, I would be comparing Seoul, the capital of SK, with a random city in China.

Anyways, when we arrived, we met our energetic Chinese guide, and went to our hotel for a long-awaited shower, and proceeded to make the most of our last day in the free and democratic country that is China. We visited the War Museum in China, commemorating the Korean war (with slightly different versions of how things happened than the museum in SK)...

...Went on a boar ride on the river bordering china and North Korea (Thats the Friendship bridge)..

And had some fun at a great Chinese restaurant in town, complete with revolving tables (I need to get me one of those).

On the boat, I got a set of old North-Korean money (that is technically illegal for foreigners to possess in NK), and me and the guide managed to haggle down the price from 30$ to about 6$, and I got to use my special skills honed in years of role-playing games!

All in all it was a hectic day. After leaving some "compromising items" at the hotel (Basically, pictures we took in SK and pamphlets from some of the NGOs we had visited), we headed to the train station and into North Korea!

Korea Trip - South Korea Part 2

The South Korean part of the trip was pretty interesting.

We met with may professors, members of think-tanks and members of foundations working in international relations and peace. Of course the seminars were geared towards the two Koreas, and more specifically towards the situation with North Korea.

How North Korea is using fear, uncertainty and doubt while threatening the world to get what it wants. The fact is that the leaders know that they would lose a war, but also that they could cause pretty heavy damage before going out. They therefore have no interest in starting a war, but have interest (wanting more coverage, to be taken seriously, to get economic concessions) in keeping up the rhetoric.

The regime also keeps up the talk of the threat from the USA, with its bases in Japan and South Korea, but how much of it is genuinely felt and how much of it is based on the need to justify the regime is unclear.

Lets remember that the Koreas having been divided by external powers without the consent of its people,and the Kim regime being a direct consequence of Russia and China's involvement. however, the fact is that even if there were to be reunification, it would most likely spell a fiasco. North Koreans are proud and see themselves as the true Koreans, the South having sold themselves out to America. many would prefer to defect to China than to have to integrate South Korea and adopt its modern culture. A reunification would need to feed and give work to 24 million penniless North Koreans, most of which have no skills usable in South Korea's modern society. The economic gap between East and West Germany was not as large as the one between north and South Korea, and there are still inequalities to this day, a reunification between the two Koreas would therefore be extremely hard, which makes it, unfortunately, unenviable by most parties.

South Koreans have also become used to the threat of the north. most do not realize that they are still at war, as only an armistice was ever signed. The fact that Seoul could be razed in 30 minutes also eludes most of them in their everyday lives. by contrast, north Koreans are very much aware that they are still at war. They are also aware of the sanctions they are suffering from. Most of the sanctions are understandable, such as the sanctions on military goods and even luxury goods, as punishment for misdeeds. However, it becomes harder to justify refusing to sell tractors to North Korea, that has been having food problems since 1994, on the basis of which they could potentially be used as missile-carriers.

In order to understand North Korea's stubbornness, one must understand the prism by which they see the world:

1. They are very much aware that they are in a constant state of war and of the US threat and they feel they constantly have to ramp up their army and defenses as well as never show a sign of weakness, lest they be attacked. They see a strong army as the only thing preventing a US attack on them.This justifies squashing any dissension and funneling resources away from other sectors towards the army. it is also used to justify the regime.

2. They feel that they are in constant competition with south Korea. Their leaders being infallible, they blame the South Koreans selling themselves out to the US, as well as a concerted effort by the US and the UN to put up embargoes and sanctions for their economic troubles.

The feelings of being unjustly victimized and standing alone against the world are therefore strong and they want good and efficient farming, but they feel that a strong army and weapons are a prerequisite to being able to do so, as the second they show weakness, they will get invaded. Like Iraq or Libya.

...I could talk about it at length, but suffice to say the conferences in Seoul were interesting.



We stayed at a modern Youth Hostel in the heart of Seoul.

Having arrived two days early, I visited Gangnam district, and biked around Seoul a bit.

In between seminars, we had a bit of time and we ended up visiting the DMZ (Demilitarized zone). It was a mix of touristy (with coin binoculars and souvenir shops), sad (Wall with messages from separated families, a train station awaiting reunification in order to go anywhere) and scary (an abandoned tunnel dug by North Korea in order to invade South Korea.. only a few have been discovered.. How many more are there?)

We also visited the Korean War museum. (Lets just say the story is slightly different from the North version I was going to hear few days from then).

After the last seminar, we headed to Incheon port to take the ferry to Dandong, China, and from there, to north Korea.

..But more on that tomorrow....

Japan and Korea

So, I ended up spending 2 days with my Japanese friend and 2 days with Jeremy and his parents, and a party with Yves.

The first three days were at the New Koyo hostel at the Minami Senju station, which is cheap, clean and rents bikes at 2.5$ a day and has wifi and a laundry machine. The guy that runs the place is great and knows everything around the area and is always ready to help.

I ended up biking to the Sky Tree (tallest broadcasting tower in the world) to meet my japanese friend there. I didnt go up because it would have cost like 40$, and there was a huge waiting line.. What i DID do was go up to the 31st floor of the building right next to it for free.

After getting another bike, we ended up going to Ueno Park to see the Sakura blooming. when we made it, it was night, but the whole place was lit up and it was pretty. we ended up sitting down and talking to a couple of japanese guys, and eventually with a couple of japanese girls that were sitting behind us. One of the girls was totally a hottie and was smart, had studied Chinese and had worked there a few months and had a interest in the world and politics and we ended up talking 3 hours. She also had a boyfriend, I learned then. Figures.

The next day I went to meet my friend in the Yokohama Chinatown, it took longer than planned because I couldnt get a wifi. I even checked at a Starbucks, but to be able to use the wifi there, you need to register. Online. Yeah.
The staff, whom I am sure ALL had their smartphones somewhere near by were less than helpful suggesting i find a hotel or something with free wifi to register. I guess it would have been too much to ask that one proposes to register me online with their smartphone. I ended up having to leave Chinartown to find a 7-11 convinience store, which all have free wifi. Is there something 7-11 DONT have in Japan?

After an all-you-can-eat Chinese food buffet, I went to meet Jeremy and we went out for Karaoke. The next day we had to check out at the New Koyo, as it had been full for saturday night and ended up staying at the Koyo (The OLD Koyo) hostel. The owner was polite enough, but the place was pretty bad... People smoked in the rooms and hallway, the shower was closed from 11pm to 9am, and the checkout was at 9am, the rooms smelt of cigarette and were very shabby... I should have forked the extra 10$ to get a regular cheap hostel, if only not to have to wake up at 7am in a room stinking of cigarette because my nextdoor neighbour was smoking, and being able to take a shower before checking out...

Anyhoo, before having to check into that crumby hostel, Jeremy and me met up with his parents, who happened to be in Japan visiting him, and we went around Shibuya. I eventually met up with Yves, and we went out with some friends. I got a bunch of cheesecake at this trendy place in Shibuya and it was good.

The last day, I said goodbye to jeremy and his parents and went to the Oedo Monogatari Onsen in Odaiba. I had already been there a few times before, but I noticed a sign this time around saying clearly that people with tattoos were not permitted to enter.. I resisted the urge to Gaijin Smash my way in, and asked the guy at the door if it was OK if I just covered it or something. No go. So after an hour of train, dirty me could not even go to the Onsen. At least I had an interesting talk with the manager, though we obviously had a different conception as to the definition of the word "discrimination".

So, having been unable to get a shower at Crumby Hostel, and being refused the right to bathe, and running out of time, I went to the airport and flew to Korea.

Korea is pretty similar, yet very different from Japan. People sort of look the same, the art and graphics of signs and posters are very similar, but the language and alphabet are completely different. When people talk, I sometimes can understand a small part of what they are saying because some words are similar with Japanese words, but just when I think I can understand, it becomes totally alien... Also, there must be an infrastructure with the sewage system, because most parts of town smell like shit. Literally. Like, from the sewers. I dont know how the sewage works, but in many districts, every block or so, I'd pass a sewage grating, and would get a whiff of old mud puppy. I still cant decide if its better or worse than cigarette smoke.

Anyhoo, There is a lot less english on the signs and I cant read a word of korean, so the trip to the hostel wasa bit more challenging. In a good way. I eventually arrived, and while the room is small, theres a laundry room, free rice/kimchi/instant ramen, and the rooms are clean. Theres no wifi, but theres a computer with internet, which I am using right now. Its also like 15$ a night.

The owner talks good english, and he even lent me his bike, so I went to the Gangam area and wandered around Seoul a bit. Food prices are always a surprise. 80 cents for a jumeok bap (korean onigiri), 10$ for a feast or korean BBQ... But then 10$ is also what it costs for a few pastries and a coffee at a local non-high-class place. I dont know if the price of wheat skyrocketed and meat plumetted, but anyways.

Tomorow I will go around Seoul a bit more and I have to check in at the hostel where the group of students will be staying. The real study trip starts tomorrow at 2:00pm.

Kombini run!

So, after more than twenty hours, I am in Tokyo!

I noticed my japanese is a bit rusty, but i can manage to get around by myself pretty good.

Basically....

Its good to be back.
I dont know if its the sense of adventure of being alone with your backpack and a couple of bucks..
...if its being in a country so foreign that its still exotic, but familiar enoigh that you can get around and talk to people...
...if its the freedom of wandering the streets and aside from a few big plans like visiting Sky Tree, just being free and wander where things look interesting...

But i missed that.

Its strange how nostalgic just seeing the landscape from Narita aiort to Tokyo station was from the train window,i mean its just a bunch of rural-ish houses, some fields and a babmoo grove or two, right?

So here I am at a nice and cheap place near minamisenju station, planning to meet some friends during the week and weekend, but also just wander around and look at stuff.


Before heading to the academic trip in the Koreas.
Seems many of the ministers we were supposed ro meet will be tied up because of the situation with the DPRK, but we will meet more professors at various universities to compensate.
Looking forward to ot...


But first, its Japan time.

...I wonder what my kids are doing...

Id like to go back to Mikasa sometime...

First Step

First leg in the trip to Japan-SouthKorea-China-NorthKorea...
Boarding a plane to New-York in 10m
Didnt sleep last night in order to be here on time.

Exchange rate sucks, I'm gonna be so poor after this...

Sommet.. ou fosse?

http://blogues.lapresse.ca/voixdelest/2013/02/07/un-mauvais-film/


Bref, le PQ, qui proposait de faire un sommet sur l'éducation ou "tout serait mis sur la table" met de coté  une à une, les idées et les débats autres que l'indexation des frais de scolarité. Va-t-on vraiment parler du financement des universités? Va-t-on véritablement considérer la gestion interne des universités, une certaine mal-gestion que semble élucider quelques études dont, entre-autre, celle-ci? 
Le ministre à apparemment déjà décidé que l'indexation est la solution... Alors le sommet sera un beau petit spectacle dont la décision finale a déjà été choisie à l'avance.

Si nous remettions en place ne serait-ce que la moitié des impôts aux corporations ou au capital financier qui ont été coupés ces dernières années nous pourrions nous payer même la (si choquante) gratuité scolaire.
Et avoir un surplus.
Depuis 2000, le taux fédéral d'imposition est passé de 28 % à 15 %...
Avec l'imposition provinciale de 12%, les entreprises sont imposées à 28%
Comparé à la moyenne de 38% des états-unis, c'est un paradis fiscal!
Le gouvernement peut ben pas avoir d'argent à mettre en éducation....

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Ayant pris part à beaucoup de manifestations, j'ai vu de près les abus policiers, la violence excessive et la provocation par les "forces de l'ordre" des civils pour justifier leur intervention musclée. J'ai aussi vu la version biaisée de l'histoire véhiculée par la majorité des grands médias et la crédulité passive du grand public et sa capacité à être manipulé par la peur.
Certains sous-groupes de manifestants faisaient du grabuge, certes, mais il y en avait au moins autant du côté des policiers.. Plus, en fait, si on considère que les étudiants étaient si nombreux comparativement aux policiers.
Cela étant dit, je ne suis plus surpris des abus policiers. Constable 728 est un cas parmi tant d'autres.
Je ne suis donc pas surpris quand je vois des articles comme ceci.
Suis-je le seul à penser que les policiers devraient être des professionnels entraînés et agir au service de la population citoyenne et devoir rendre des comptes à la population qu'elle prétend servir et qui paie son salaire?
Enfer à la "confrérie" et un peu plus de responsabilisation et de transparence SVP!

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La capacité de réductionnisme et d'infantilisation, voire de démagogie que beaucoup de journalistes font du sujet est presque aussi aberrant que le nombre de lecteurs qui ne font que le gober tout rond sans poser un regard critique sur le sujet.

Par exemple, cet article.

On voit tout de suite que l'auteur n,effleure que la surface du problème, en le sur-simplifiant et en utilisant une analogie douteuse, mais qui, à première vue apparaît juste.

Voici donc quelques commentaires faits à propos de cet article faits par moi et d'autres:


1. La France est un système à 2 vitesses, où les universités gratuites sont sous financés et mal perçues par le privé. Si on s'offre la gratuité, toutes les universités doivent avoir le même financement, aussi non on se retrouve en position d'injustice. L'auteur aurait pu nommer l'Allemagne, la Suède, le Danemark, Le Mexique qui ont des universités gratuites avec de bonnes réputations.

2. L'auteur induit les lecteurs faussement à l'idée que la gratuité scolaire doit NÉCESSAIREMENT être la gratuité non balisée. Option Nationale par exemple ne propose aucunement la gratuité scolaire non balisée. L'état pourrait payer par exemple la première admission et si un étudiant venait qu'à échouer il devrait en assumer les frais. plusieurs autres systèmes de balises sont possibles. pour revenir à son analogie boiteuse de consommation d,eau, ça serait comme avoir des compteurs, mais avoir droit à une certaine quantité d'eau gratuite avant de commencer de la payer.

3. Pourquoi donner des barrières supplémentaires à l'accessibilité et à la promotion des études universitaires quand le taux de diplomation est déjà inférieur à la moyenne des pays comparable au Québec?

4. La gratuité scolaire se chiffre entre 500 millions et 800 millions. On subventionne nos entreprises à coups de 3 milliards par année (soit 3 fois plus que l'Ontario). Est-ce que ce genre de dépenses et de subvention est réellement rentable? L'abolition de la taxe sur le capital et la baisse d'impositions aux corporation ont-ils vraiment créés de l'emploi, ou ont-ils juste servis à renflouer les coffres des compagnies et des actionnaires (les études récentes semblent proposer que c'est le cas)?

5. On entre dans une phase ou la main d'oeuvre spécialisée sera en forte demande (beaucoup de mise à la retraite à prévoir). Ce serait tout à notre avantage d'augmenter les incitatifs aux études dans ce contexte. On parle souvent des coûts de la gratuité scolaire, mais as-t -on chiffrés les bénéfices? Tous ces gradués auront certainement un revenu plus élevé, donc plus d'impôts pour l'état et ainsi de suite.

6. Les droits de scolarité substantiels vont décourager ou rendre impossible certains de poursuivre des études universitaires et donc non seulement nuire au développement du milieu universitaire, mais nous priver de Québécois(es) éduquées potentiels. De plus, les études démontrent que ceux issus des milieux plus défavorisés sont plus réfractaires à l'idée d'endettement. Bref, l'endettement est quand même un frein.

7. Une autre "balise" pouvant être utilisée est le contrat social. Nous payons les études des Québécois(es), mais après leurs études, il est nécessaire que tu travailles au Québec pendant un certain nombre d'années. Si tu veux quitter le Québec, pas de problème - mais tu auras alors une dette envers le gouvernement Québec au prorata des années de "service" te restant et du coût de tes études; la portion du coût des études que tu dois alors défrayer serait calculé de façon "concurrentielle" avec le coût des études ailleurs dans le monde. Ça éviterait donc qu'une personne profite d'études à rabais en médecine, par exemple, avant d'aller pratiquer juste de l'autre côté de la frontière.

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Au moins, il y en a encore certains qui acceptent la r.alité plus nuancée et complexe de la situation et sont prêt à aborder le sujet véritablement, et non avec la décision déjà prise d'avance:

http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/education/370711/la-gratuite-est-realiste-dit-jacques-parizeau

Et, en language plus vernaculaire, mais non poins posé:

http://www.lapresse.ca/debats/chroniques/pierre-foglia/201302/09/01-4620019-parlera-t-on-aussi-deducation.php

Nouvelle page

Bon, ça fait deux ans que je suis revenu, je devrais poster de temps en temps.

Cependant ma vie a pas mal changée. je ne suis plus en pays étranger (quoique des fois j'ai le sentiment d'y être tant je suis d.goûté d'un système politique qui ne me représente pas ainsi que de la petitesse d'esprit de beaucoup de mes co-citoyens).

Je ne peux donc pas poster mes aventures ou mésaventures, et poster à propos de mon cheminement scolaire serait monotone. Pour l'instant donc, ce blog deviendra plus une façon de m'exprimer sur ce qui me tracasse dans l'actualité, mes opinions, etc.